Business lessons from the refugee playbook

TED@UPS asks: What if the refugee mindset can improve capitalism?

After the devastation of the Khmer Rouge regime, Cambodians fled to refugee camps by the thousands. Christine Thach’s family was among them. By relying on one another, these refugees survived the dangerous flight to freedom. When Christine’s family was selected for resettlement in the U.S., that same team mentality helped them thrive.

This collective success mindset we’ve seen in refugees can improve the way we do business.

With the world facing a new refugee crisis today, Christine, who now holds an MBA and has a successful career in business, reflects on what she learned from her family’s experiences in their close-knit community of refugees.

In her TED@UPS talk, she identifies several lessons that today’s capitalist culture could take from the “refugee playbook” to improve the way we do business. These include creating a culture of empowerment and thinking of business as a team sport.

Christine shares examples from her own life, as well as from businesses like IKEA and Chobani Yogurt, to illustrate how capitalism and collectivism are complementary mindsets.